Humanism for a Better World

About Us

SOUTH HAMPSHIRE HUMANISTS attracts people across and beyond the region indicated below, including Salisbury in Wiltshire and Bournemouth in Dorset, though the latter has its own humanist organisations as well.

South Hampshire Humanists started up in 1993 for those in the region who choose to live without religion.

We hold regular meetings, informal discussion groups and social gatherings. See EVENTS for the range of activities. Click on NEWSLETTER for our most recent issue which includes a calendar of the year’s activities.

Annual subscriptions are £10 per person, but we’re very happy for people to try us out a couple of times before deciding whether to join. We suggest a modest donation towards the cost of refreshments at our main meetings.

We can advise on non-religious baby namings/welcomings, weddings and funerals. See CEREMONIES for information about the nature of a humanist ceremony, and CELEBRANTS for details of celebrants in the region.

We also promote an awareness and knowledge of Humanism in the area, for example humanist representatives sit on the three Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs) for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, and we normally contribute to the Remembrance Sunday event in Southampton.

We support and contribute to local and national charities that aim to improve the condition of humanity, as well as being concerned about the negative impact of human activity on the planet and other forms of life.

If all this sounds over-serious, we think the range of our activities provides fun and enjoyment for like-minded people.

As well as being a partner group of Humanists UK we are affiliated to the National Secular Society.

If you are sceptical about religious beliefs and looking for an alternative worldview you may find that Humanism has appeal and that our activities are of interest.

“As man advances in civilisation, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the people of all nations and races.”Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man 1871

Humanism is becoming, if it has not already become, the default position of our society, much as “C of E” used to be in England.Editorial in The Guardian, 15 June 2015